Whether you’re forming your first business, transferring ownership of your business to a family member, or looking to exit your business, business planning can involve numerous considerations and legal documents. If you’re looking for a Columbus business attorney or a Columbus business succession planning attorney, our firm can help with your business transition issues. 

Forming a Business

Our firm’s Columbus business lawyers help advise entrepreneurs as to what entity is the best fit for their particular needs. While some legal entities may offer particular advantages or certain legal trends may advocate for a particular legal entity, the correct entity choice really depends on the unique individual circumstances of the person or team behind the business. Our lawyers take the time to get to know you and your business, as well as your short term, intermediate, and long terms goals for your business. We pride ourselves on forming the entity and structuring the business that will provide the best vehicle for you to open, maintain, and grow your company.

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Forming a Subsidiary

If your company is growing and you’d like to add a related or complementary business, but you don’t want your primary legal entity to hold the assets and liabilities associated with the new business, forming a subsidiary may be the ideal legal strategy for you. Our Columbus, Ohio business lawyers can advise you as to what the best organizational or re-structuring strategy may be, given your goals.

Business Succession Planning

Whether you’re contemplating transferring your business to a family member, a key employee, or a minority owner, business succession planning and properly executing a business succession plan can greatly aid in the successful transfer of your business. We advise business owners on a range of business succession issues, including transferring of key assets, retaining valued employees, purchase price structuring, holdbacks, earn outs, liability protection, and tax strategy.

Planning for an Owner Exiting a Business

Business owner exits can happen with months or years of planning, but sometimes exiting a business has to happen very, very quickly. Whatever your timetable, we offer poised and responsive legal services that will help you exit your business in a smooth and efficient manner.

Selling a Business

Perhaps you’ve poured years into building your business and your customer base. Or perhaps you’ve quickly scaled up your tech or software company, and you’ve hit your exit goals. There are a variety of avenues to selling your business or your shares in a business, which will depend on a number of factors, including your total equity percentage and the structure of your business. Our firm has assisted business owners and companies draft a multitude of transactional documents including stock sale agreements and unit purchase agreements. We can guide you through the key structuring concerns associated any transaction type that involves selling your business.

Buying a Business

There are numerous ways to buy a business and the best strategy for buying a business may turn on your personal legal and tax concerns. Asset purchase agreements can be structured to be as simple or as complex as the situation calls for. More exotic options, such as the forward triangular merger or the reverse triangular merger, may offer certain legal organizational and tax savings benefits. Our firm is happy to guide you through your options for buying a business.

dissolving-a-business

Dissolving a Business

Although some owners may wish it was as easy as locking the door and turning off the lights, closing and dissolving a business can involve a number of legal considerations, filings with various government divisions, and steps that some business owners sometimes don’t realize are required. Properly closing a business can depend on a number of factors including the financial state of the business, the assets held by the business, and the type of business. Depending on your circumstances, legally closing a business can take days or can take months.

For example, dissolving a corporation in Ohio can greatly differ from dissolving an LLC in Ohio. If you have an Ohio corporation, you will have to dissolve the corporation in compliance with Ohio Revised Code section 1701.86(C), section 1701.86(D), or section 1701.86(E). You will then have to notify the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation and the Ohio Department of Jobs and Family Services. Once these steps are complete, you will then have to secure a Certificate of Tax Clearance from the Ohio Department of Taxation. Only once all of these steps are complete can you proceed to file for dissolution with the Ohio Secretary of State.

Contrasted with closing a corporation, dissolving an LLC in Ohio can be much easier and quicker. If you have multiple members in your LLC, breaking up the LLC may depend on your operating agreement. If you have a single member operating agreement, dissolving your LLC may be as simple as filing Form 562 with the Ohio Secretary of State.

If you are contemplating splitting up, selling, transferring, closing, or dissolving your business, don’t wait to contact a good Columbus business law lawyer. Getting a Columbus, Ohio business law attorney at our firm involved sooner rather than later may help better structure your business succession goals and save you from costly tax and legal mistakes.

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